SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an animated character created by late marine biologist Stephen Hillenburg, for the Nickelodeon television series SpongeBob SquarePants. Serving as the eponymous protagonist of the series, he is an energetic and optimistic anthropomorphize sea sponge who lives in the fictional underwater city of Bikini Bottom. He works as a fry cook at a restaurant called the Krusty Krab, who goes on various adventures and endeavors with his various friends, including a dim-witted starfish named Patrick and an octopus named Squidward. SpongeBob's show debuted on May 1, 1999 on Nickelodeon to worldwide critical acclaim, and has since won numerous awards, spawned two feature films, and become the highest-rated series ever to air on Nickelodeon. History with the Macy's Parade SpongeBob was introduced to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade as a balloon in 2004, to promote his first feature film, The SpongeBob SquarePants Movie. The SpongeBob balloon is also said to be the first-ever square-shaped balloon in the parade's (at the time of his debut) 78-year-history. After 2006, he was retired from the parade, but only to return in 2008 after a leap of absence. It is likely that the reason his grand return was made possible after being a no-show in 2007 may have been because of the character being such a pop-culture icon, that Macy's and Nickelodeon felt bad for retiring him and decided to bring him back. The original balloon continued to appear until 2012, when it was retired after a significant age showing. A new SpongeBob balloon was introduced in 2013. This time, he is based off of his appearance as seen in the more recent SpongeBob episodes from Seasons 4 onwards, and sports a Santa Claus hat with a jingle bell attached to the back of it. He also appeared in the Christmas portion of the Parade in a couple of occasions (in 2014, where he was the last balloon in the lineup, and in 2016, as the second-to-last balloon). This balloon still makes appearances as of now. However, it's rumored that this version of the balloon will be retired after 2018, and will possibly reappear in a new balloon form, but this remains uncertain. Other Appearances In addition to SpongeBob's reappearance as a balloon in 2017, his Broadway Musical with the same name starring Ethan Slater as SpongeBob also made a performance as one of the four Broadway Musical performances in the NBC telecast. SpongeBob will also have his own dedicated unit in Universal's Holiday Parade Featuring Macy's starting in 2019, joining other popular franchises, Despicable Me, Madagascar, and Shrek. Incidents * For some reason, during all of the original balloon's appearances, SpongeBob's arms were slightly bent. * The 2004, 2006, 2010, and 2011 parades all had incidents where SpongeBob got snagged on a lamppost. All these times, however, he was freed. * In 2012, SpongeBob's right hand and right shoe were deflated because he was not inflated very well. Music * "F.U.N." song instrumental (2004-2006, 2008-2013) * SpongeBob SquarePants theme marching band arrangement (2014-Present) Gallery Gallery: SpongeBob SquarePants Category:2013 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:2004 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:Macy's Balloon Characters Category:Comeback Balloon in the Parade Category:TV Characters Category:Cartoon Characters Category:Movie Characters Category:2000s Balloons Category:2010s Balloons Category:Holiday Ambassadors Category:Male Balloons Category:Raven Aerostar Balloons Category:Balloons that were in an accident Category:Retired Balloons Category:Big Balloons Category:Parade Favorites